A washing machine is an apparatus that performs a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, and a spin-drying cycle using the driving force of a motor to wash laundry.
Generally, washing machines may be classified as pulsator type (full automatic washing machine), drum type, agitator type, or the like, depending on a washing action type.
Today, because the amount of laundry done per family has in some instances been reduced given the trend toward nuclear families, a need to wash an infant's laundry separately has been increasingly recognized, and other specialized applications for small load washing machines have been realized, the demand for smaller washing machines has increased. To meet the demand and minimize the space that the washing machines occupy, a wall mounted drum type washing machine has been developed.
Generally, a wall mounted drum type washing machine refers to a drum type washing machine that holds a small amount of laundry and that can be mounted on a wall.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a conventional wall mounted drum type washing machine 1 according to the related art. The wall mounted drum type washing machine is fixed or fastened onto a wall by one or more fixtures.
A tub 2 is filled with washing water which is supplied by a water supply valve (not illustrated).
A case 3 forms an outer surface of the wall mounted drum type washing machine.
A rotatable cylindrical drum 4 is between the tub 2 and the case 3, that is, in the case 3.
A front of the case 3 has a door 5. This configuration enables a user to put the laundry into the drum 4 by opening the door 5.
An operation part or operation controller 6 is at a lower portion of the case 3, below the doors. The washing cycle, the rinsing cycle, and the spin-drying cycle are selectively or sequentially performed, based on a user's operation of the operation part or operation controller 6.
The wall mounted drum type washing machine 1 is operated by opening the door 5, putting the laundry into the drum 4, closing the door 5, and operating the operation part or operation controller 6 to select one or more operations and/or their sequence and/or duration after the application of power.
When the wall mounted drum type washing machine 1 is operated, water is introduced into the tub 2 by operating a water supply valve, and the water introduced into the tub 2 enters the drum 4. When water above a predetermined water level enters the drum 4, the motor is operated by a microcomputer and transfers rotating power to the drum 4. The laundry in the drum 4 is washed by rotating the drum 4.
The conventional wall mounted drum type washing machine according to the related art includes a first water supply valve that is connected to a detergent box and a separate second water supply valve that is connected to a softener box. That is, each water supply valve has one passage, and two separate water supply valves supply water to the detergent box and to the softener box. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and assembly time of the wall mounted drum type washing machine 1 may increase.
Because two water supply valves are present, the overall size of the wall mounted drum type washing machine 1 may increase, and it may be difficult to decrease the size of the conventional wall mounted drum type washing machine.
Conventional wall mounted drum-type washing machines may be disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0077994 and Korean Patent Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0064627.